Mahabharata — Bhishma Parva, Shloka 3
अश्वा नाश्वैरयुध्यन्त गजा न गजयोधिभि: । उन्मत्तवन्महाराज युध्यन्ते तत्र भारत
aśvā nāśvair ayudhyanta gajā na gajayodhibhiḥ | unmattavan mahārāja yudhyante tatra bhārata ||
സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—മഹാരാജാവേ! അവിടെ കുതിരകൾ കുതിരകളോടു മാത്രമല്ല, ആനകൾ ആനയോദ്ധാക്കളോടു മാത്രമല്ല—അങ്ങനെ യുദ്ധം നടന്നു. ഹേ ഭാരതാ! എല്ലാവരും ഉന്മത്തരെന്നപോലെ, യോജ്യതയുടെ പരിഗണനയില്ലാതെ, നേരിട്ടവരോടൊക്കെയും പോരാടുകയായിരുന്നു.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war can dissolve discipline and discernment: fighters abandon proper order and proportional engagement, becoming ‘unmattavat’—as if mad. Ethically, it points to the dehumanizing momentum of battle, where right measure and restraint are easily lost.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield has become confused and indiscriminate: cavalry do not limit themselves to cavalry, and elephant units do not fight only their counterparts; instead, combatants clash with anyone they encounter, as though frenzied.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.